A state senator in Connecticut follows his instincts to recover a $600 deposit for a constituent.

This week in Connecticut the trial began for a man charged with robbing a bank patron. How was the suspect caught? It involved a footchase and a former college runner—who is a familiar face to the residents of Rocky Hill, Connecticut.

“It was like the movies,” said Paul Doyle, 53, an attorney and state senator. He represents Connecticut’s 9th State Senate district, which is just south of Hartford.

On November 19 of last year, Doyle was making a transaction for a client in Webster bank in Rocky Hill. Suddenly he heard a scream and a woman say, “That man just robbed me!”

Doyle saw a man running out the door and decided to give chase.

“It was definitely spur of the moment,” Doyle said. “I just went with my gut and said, ‘Well, I’ll go for it.’”

To pursue the man, Doyle had to cross a busy four-lane road in the rain. He followed the robber down an alley and yelled, “Drop it!” causing the man to throw the money in the air. Doyle then stopped to pick up the money that was falling in flurries.

The robber ran away, but he was later apprehended by the Rocky Hill Police Department. Christopher Lunn, 33, was charged with one count of 5th degree larceny and one felony robbery charge.

“I’m a long-time runner—since junior high school,” Doyle told Runner’s World by phone. “It certainly came in handy, because as a runner you just weave through traffic and get across busy roads.”

Doyle was captain of his high school cross-country and track teams before running at Colby College, a Division III program in Maine. He continued running into his early 40s. At the time, he was running 25–30 miles a week.

After three knee surgeries due to running injuries, Doyle now does more cross training—swimming three times and biking twice a week. He runs only about twice a week for about 4-5 miles these days. He seeks out soft surfaces like those at a country club near Wethersfield, Connecticut, where he lives with his wife, Diana, or he’ll hit the trails with his local running club, the “WeHas.”

With positive press surrounding the event, Doyle feels that the decision to go running after the man will most likely help in his re-election bid in November.

“In life you just do what is right, and in reflection it was right to help the victim of a robbery,” Doyle said. “Some people were praising me, but my wife wasn’t happy.”

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